DI Player of the Year Watch, March 5

The first in-season update of the Player of the Year Watch is always the most difficult, for obvious reasons — there's the least evidence off of which to alter preseason expectations and there's the most time for things to change.

1. Lyle Thompson, A, Jr., Albany (6G, 12A in 3 games)Thompson entered the season as a presumptive favorite coming off of a near-record-setting campaign, but his candidacy is the most difficult to evaluate at this early point. On one hand, his Great Danes squad is 1-2 and has only played three games. On the other hand, he’s averaging six points per game (with that playmaker balance that voters routinely value) and of anyone on the list, there’s reason to believe his per-game numbers will only get better.

Additionally, the point was well-made in the preseason that Miles Thompson, a senior with nearly identical production but hampered by injuries last year, is a viable player of the year candidate, himself. To this point, Albany’s 2-1 start seems to make it tough to put two Danes in the top 10. So, despite the fact that Miles and Lyle have identical numbers, the smart cop-out is that Lyle’s preseason hype remains, and Miles deserves to be included in that.

2. Mark Cockerton, A, Sr., Virginia (22G, 9A in 6 games)Cockerton’s assist numbers are up from last season, which is no surprise given the emergence of James Pannell as his opposite number (and one could make a similar point about Pannell’s candidacy as Miles Thompson’s; it’s starkly linked with Cockerton’s). Overall, he’s been opponents’ No. 1 option when defending Virginia and has brought a nice spark to a Cavalier squad that’s shot up the polls and currently sits No. 2.

3. Shane Sturgis, A, Sr., Penn State (18G, 5A in 4 games)Sturgis was routinely near the top of the Freshman Rankings four years ago, and despite good seasons in 2012 and ’13, his production was more sporadic. This year, he’s shown the consistency and urgency of an excellent senior, and coach Jeff Tambroni has spoken of him in glowing terms. Sturgis has been excellent in the Nittany Lions’ 3-1 start, including their OT loss to Loyola in which he put up three goals and two assists while being guarded by Joe Fletcher, the lone remaining U.S. National Team hopeful currently in college.

4. Mike Chanenchuk, A/M, Sr., Maryland (12G, 5A in 4 games)Surrounded by a handful of first-time contributors (and, to be fair, guys with a little more season in attackman Jay Carlson and middie Joe Locascio), Chanenchuk has been excellent as a tone-setter for the Terps. The versatility he brings in being able to swing between midfield and attack gives coach John Tillman the comfort of continuously tweaking his lineups and keeping his most veteran offensive player on the field as much as possible. Chanenchuk is coming off probably his best game since arriving in College Park, as he put up five goals and an assist and caused two turnovers to beat previous No. 1 Duke on a day that Maryland didn’t have a ton of other magic on O.

5. Jordan Wolf, A, Sr., Duke (12G, 10A in 5 games)Wolf looks like a different player in 2014 — where he used to use his speed to outrun guys around the goal, he’s added a strength component to his arsenal of moves, outmuscling defenders around the net to explode into good shots. While sophomore Case Matheis has shown even more improvement alongside Wolf, Duke’s offense still isn’t totally clicking, so there’s reason to expect No. 31 to become even more dangerous in the coming months.

6. Matt Kavanagh, A, So., Notre Dame (9G, 8A in 3 games)At this point last year, Kavanagh had 12 points in three games, but his standing in this conversation was pretty much the same as he’d put in two OT game-winning goals. His flair for the dramatic remains (as evidenced by Saturday’s comeback win over Carolina), but his production has taken an uptick. Like Albany, there’s still a desire to see more of Kavanagh as the Irish have played only three games, and the next opportunity will be a doozy as Notre Dame heads to California to take on Denver.

7. Thomas Schreiber, M, Sr., Princeton (7G, 6A in 3 games)Schreiber was “held” to three goals in the Tigers’ loss to Johns Hopkins Saturday, which is Princeton’s toughest defensive matchup of the early season. Most telling about that is that the Blue Jays managed to limit Schreiber’s effectiveness as a feeder after he had a combined six assists in the Tigers’ first two wins.

8. Niko Amato, G, Sr., Maryland (68.3%, 5.46GAA in 4 games)Amato currently leads the country in save percentage and Maryland’s tops in average goals allowed; while he’s playing behind an experienced and excellent defense, it’s hard to argue that Amato’s been not just the best goalie in the country, but one of the best players. Add to the fact that he’s helped the No. 1 Terps to wins over Syracuse and Duke — two offenses that it’d be a huge surprise if they didn’t rank in the top 10 at season’s end — and, if he keeps this up, Amato might join the exclusive ranks of goalies that have been invited to D.C.

9. Nikko Pontrello, A, Jr., Loyola (19G, 4A in 5 games)There’s a chicken-egg element to whether Pontrello’s go-to-the-goal ability has opened up Loyola’s midfielders, who’ve in turn been more productive than last season, or vice versa. Either way, Pontrello’s the Greyhound representative on this list (replacing, for the moment, senior Justin Ward and his four-goal, 15-assist start to the year) primarily because he scored the big OT-winner vs. Penn State.

10. Wells Stanwick, A, Jr., Johns Hopkins (6G, 15A in 4 games)The Blue Jays’ transition to an offense that emphasizes quicker cutting with and without the ball and more interior passing (as opposed to long dodges, skip passes and exterior ball movement to create space inside) seems to have played to Stanwick’s strengths, as he’s been good both in distributing the ball from around the net and finishing when called upon. He’s continued to make the types of plays he’s been known for through his first two seasons at Homewood.